. >> reporter: what about romney saying 47% are entitled to government benefits. >> i think the vice president knows sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way. >> but i always say what i mean. and so does romney. >> reporter: what about the obama stimulus, the recovery? >> job growth in september was slower than it was in august and august it awas slower than it was in july. we're heading in the wrong direction. >> with 5.2 million new jobs, private sector jobs. >> was it a good idea to spend taxpayer dollars on electricing cars in finland or windmills in china? >> this is exactly what we needed to stop us from going off a cliff. >> reporter: can a middle tax health hike be prevented? >> not mathematically possible. >> it is, it's been done before. >> it has never been done before. >> reporter: on the style side, biden smiled. a lot. ryan a debate rookie kept his cool. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, danville, kentucky. >> both campaigns are holing their own debate watch parties across virginia tonight. the republicans set up their office in arlington to watch pa